1 thought on “Ihmeiden kabinetti”

Thus far, I have, for whatever reason, been comparing the Pendergastian works of Messrs. Preston and Child to food (see, for example, here and here). It’s entirely possible I have a tapeworm. That said, in keeping with that theme, let’s call Cabinet of Curiosities a pumpkin spice latte. On a crisp late October day with the leaves overhead a blaze of orange, red, and yellow, there are few more sublime experiences than sitting outside and sipping a pumpkin spice latte while you enjoy that blaz [...]

5 creepy, terrifying stars!Thanks Terry for the great BR on this book. I’m really enjoying our mutual trip down Pendergast horror lane. 😱😃Alright, where do I start? That’s right, we start in New York City in an ancient tunnel full of 36 dead bodies! So, where did these bodies come from and why are they there? Great question and you’re about to find out.FBI agent Aloysius X.L. Pendergast (whew, what a name!) decides to investigate this site with the dead bodies and enlist Dr. Nora Kel [...]

This book was fantastic! The Pendergast series has been awesome so far. Well researched. Twists and turns. Suspense. Gore. Diabolical bad guys. Perilous situations. Last minute salvation. I am so glad this series has a lot more books because I don't want it to end!

OkayI gave it a 5 star. Not many of those on my list, but I gave Relic a 4 and the only way to up that was a 5. I'm a little surprised at myself for the rating. This is a very good read and I have it on my shelf. I obtained it after listening to the audio (in a vehicle). I only do that if I figure I'll possibly reread at some point.The atmosphere in this book combined with the imaginative story line is, if not great, just short of it. These books seem to have a largely female readership No reaso [...]

Sadly, I've now read all of the Pendergast novels, at least until the new one comes out this summer. Fortunately, I seem to have inadvertantly saved the best for last! Cabinet of Curiosities is definitely my favorite of all of them. At a construction site in New York City, workers unearth more than thirty skeletons, evidence of a serial killer operating more than 100 years ago. Soon afterward, a chilling series of copycat murders are perpetrated by a killer dubbed The Surgeon by the press. Agent [...]

The only thing I'm left feeling curious about is what took me so long to read this book, and the other Preston/Child's books?! This is a great mystery that includes tons of action, twists/turns and great horror moments. Special Agent Pendergast is such a fun, mysterious and always interesting character. I enjoyed getting more of his background in this installment. Thanks to Ginger and Matthew for the fun buddy read!

After a horrible discovery of a XIX century churnel house made by construction workers, people start dying. The manner of these recent deaths is the same as the old murders, so the press gave the killer a name - The Surgeon. Considering how weird all this is, it is no wonder Pendergast gets involved. There is a lot of him in this book.I have a feeling this book tried to cram as much as incompetent and corrupt people as it it possible. It certainly wins the prize so far. The first two had their o [...]

The Cabinet of Curiosities is an excellent serial killer based story. It is creepy, tense and intelligent. It has all the trademarks of this series - great writing, subtle humour, brilliant characters and an intricate mystery. The Cabinet of Curiosities gives us a far deeper look into Pendergast than either of the previous books. He reminded me of Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock with his mannerisms, memory palace and coterie of smart assistants. I wonder how much inspiration Mark Gatis took fro [...]

“One can reach the gates of hell just as easily by short steps as by large.” Staying in New York, this third novel deals with the museum and archaeological finds again. This time it's closet to home when tearing down structures for new business reveals hidden bones and horrors beneath cement walls, telling a tragic story of the past. A modern killer is up to no good, however, bringing out Special Agent Pendergast, returning character journalist Bill Smithback, and struggling archaeologist No [...]

The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child was a huge disappointment to me. Throughout this book I wondered why it was so revered in the mystery world. My husband picked up this copy almost a year ago for me and has been waiting patiently ever since for me to read it. After reading a particularly taxing book, I was looking for something lighter and exciting to read, so I picked this up. I'm still somewhat confused as to all the five star ratings on , and if someone would lik [...]

Super Pendergast returns! Praise HIS might!Yes, THAT was the worst part of this book. When I was reading about his "super powers" I thought something like: "What the hell?! Is that Marvel or something?". Meditation, ability to experience historical events and play chess or bridge in the mind. Pendergast is the type of person who knows EVERYTHING better than you and probably can speak fluently in more than 90% of known languages. Add to this incredible stamina and nearly absolute resistance to a [...]

This is a great book and the best stand alone book of the series. With great research into the underworld of New York city, the environment for this novel is incredible both equally spooky as well as fascinating. This is the first true Pendergast novel. Up until than he has been one character in a cast of characters, now for really the first time, he is the focus of the novel. And he easily carries the novel, the character himself and his family history are fascinating. This also begins to elude [...]

4.5 stars. Definitely the best in the series so far. Gradually we are learning more about Pendergast. These authors know how to write a suspenseful story! Two nights in a row I was unable to carry on reading because I was finding it creepy and I didn't think I'd be able to sleep if I read any more. And I read quite a lot of grimdark and horror type books. I enjoyed the history in this book too. An all round thoroughly entertaining read.

I really liked the title of this book when I saw it as it reminded me of something that might be the name of a book in the 19th or early 20th century. Cabinets of curiosities are not necessarily cabinets in the sense of pieces of furniture with items in it, but can be whole houses or rooms filled with various things of interestke exhibits in a museum. According to the book, they used to be fairly common and would usually charge some sort of admission fee, but were basically put out of business b [...]

I loved this book and it was even better as agent Pendergst was in it from the beginning. as I've come to know now the book has a really creepy factor there's a murder site discovered from over 100years ago but some similar murders are happening. the book was so will written and I loved all the characters. it kept me fussing and that's one thing I lie about these books, and they are hard to bout down. one interesting is you find out a lot more about Pendergst and some of his family. if you like [...]

A thrill ride from start to finish. I loved everything about this book, except the chief of police or whatever the hell he was who was in charge of the whole case involving the murders. He was really annoying and even me, a regular guy who watched a lot of crime shows and read some books on those subjects, knows that you do not arrest people on murder charges just because you got few loose clues on their actions during the murders. He was as dumb as sack of potatoes. Other than that, the whole i [...]

Since I have a hearty bus commute these days, I do a lot of reading. Though I love fine literature, at times, when on the bus, I just want a good pulpy detective novel and this is one of the best I have read so far. Co written by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Childs, this ghoulish, gothic tale set against the backdrop of contemporary Manhattan is one of those books that will keep you up till 3 AM if you aren't careful. These authors have written quite a number of books together and though I have [...]

This is the start of the Pendergraph series. Yes Pednergraph had a role in Relic and Reliquary, but this is the first book that centers on him. It is way better than Relic and Reliquary (which I liked). Pendergraph is a unique character that comes across like a cross between X-Files and the Shadow (from the classic DC Comic collection). At this point at least, Preston and Childs still appear to have difficulty with romantic threads in their book. Either include them, in which case they need impr [...]

The Cabinet of Curiosities was tough to rate. It was a good book with a well thought out story and an interesting premise, but it just didn't catch my attention like The Book of the Dead managed to. Agent Pendergast is a great charcter. He's most easily described as a modern day Sherlock Holmes, yet there is a lot more to him than that. His charcter and manner, as well as his intelligence and formidability make him stand out in the Mystery/Thriller category. A good cast of supporting charcters h [...]

***please note: serious spoilers in this review***This book started out in an interesting fashion, but a lot didn't make sense. For example, 1) I never understood what Nora found attractive in Smithback, he seemed like a fop and a simp. Maybe she wants to get a divorce in a later book in the series. 2) I never saw why Pendergast chose Nora. 3) Very dumb epiphanies - the final room to room walkthrough with the insects, then the lizards, then the clothing, then finally the armor - somehow help the [...]

An otherwise excellent novel ended up plagued by a horrendous repetition of words within the last hundred pages. Everything the characters did was described by the authors as either "slowly" or "abruptly." I actually wanted to stop reading, the overused adverbs became so bad. Either the editor became tired toward the end, or the authors were allowed to edit their own book. This saddened me a great deal, as I really loved the twisty, turn-y plot Lincoln and Child developed. If you follow my revie [...]

Oh, this book was so nearly a five star. 20 pages from the end and I thought it was clinched. But alas, the final reveal was a little disappointing, the inevitable last explanations were sketchy and motives were threadbare. Let's put all that aside for a moment. I don't read a lot of mysteries anymore. They're really more of a throwback to my teen years. Every now and then, however, I feel the need to dip back into my "comfort" genre. And I was very comfortable here with Preston and Child. There [...]